MovieChat Forums > Under Fire (1983) Discussion > Marcel Jazy

Marcel Jazy

posted 14 years ago by Eumenides_0
2 replies | jump to latest

He was a great character! But then I love Jean-Louis Trintignant's performances and I think he turns everything he touches into gold. He was so cool as the sexy, well-spoken, bon vivant CIA agent organising executions of rebels and probably innocent civilians. If everyone in the CIA were as cool as Jazy, they wouldn't need PR men to defend their image of gross violators of international laws and human rights

And I think his final speech is very interesting:

I like you people, but you are sentimental shïts. You fall in love with the poets. The poets fall in love with the Marxists. The Marxists fall in love with themselves. The country is destroyed with rhetoric, and in the end we are stuck with tyrants.

Sadly I must agree with him. Writers, thinkers and philosophers often side with left-wing governments even after they learn they're committing attrocities. They're naturally swayed by the rhetoric and the fervor of revolution to the point they become apologists of war and humanitarian crimes. Milan Kundera, who fled Czechslovakia after the Soviet invasion, wrote a fine novel about this matter, called Life Is Elsewhere, about an inept young poet who rises in the Party because he sings of the Party.

Personally as someone who holds left-wing convictions, I find this one of the greatest embarassments in the history of left-wing politics. We should apply self-scrutiny in the way we apply moral scrutiny to right-wing dictatorships.

This world is a comedy to those that think, a tragedy to those that feel.

[–] kbjornsen 13 years ago

Good points made, you are correct. The 68-generation went too far in the desire and fervor to "support any opposition", and some even lost their brains and hearts in the process. And it still does to this day. Extreme examples being the left wing terrorism of the 70s, while big parts of the thinking left unfortunately got gobbled up in pragmatism and eternal opposition of anything "west-orientated", while still enjoying the benefits of the free World (which is still a free World, however marred and jaded the glossing is...)

And yeah, Marcel was a great character.

[–] pdlussier1 12 years ago

Indeed. But, imo, self-scrutiny should be applied by anyone who aligns with extremes or seeks to polarize complex issues; common sense rarely seems to exist in those realms. However, the extreme left creates clear targets for blame and has provided obvious lessons for 'thinkers' and 'philosophers', whereas the extreme right often does not for several reasons, its strength residing in its ability to shift all blame for any failings towards the individual, thus making such scrutiny the unnecessary trappings of leftist guilt, or, as they so often like to refer to anyone not in their camp, the liberal scumbags.

Despite the truth, I seriously doubt I'll ever hear/read a right-winger say: Sadly, the less educated and open minded, the devout religious, and elitists often side with right-wing governments even after they learn they're committing atrocities. They're naturally swayed by the rhetoric and the fervor of patriotism to the point they become apologists of war and humanitarian crimes.